


Party fixes everything! Or does it?

by SarkaS



Category: Avengers Academy (Video Game), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: 7 minutes in heaven, Avengers Academy Civil War (so no big angst), Bucky is a bad singer, Civil War (Marvel), F/F, F/M, Fluff and Angst, I'll Be There Stony Fest, Impromptu band happens, Janet Van Dyne wants a party, M/M, Making Out, Not Beta Read, Partying, Peter Parker wants dad and dad to stop fighting, Pining Tony, Post-Civil War (Marvel), Spin the Bottle, Stubborn Steve Rogers, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Tony and Steve have good friends, everyone knows that
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-07
Updated: 2016-06-07
Packaged: 2018-07-12 20:44:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,887
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7121932
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SarkaS/pseuds/SarkaS
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>My fic for the first week of I'll Be There Fest, filling up this prompt:<br/>Janet has had enough of Tony/Steve fighting each other, and wants them to settle things. Best way to do that? Parties, Spin the bottle and 7 minutes in heaven of course!</p>
            </blockquote>





	Party fixes everything! Or does it?

"I can't believe you! It's like this past month didn't even register with you! Or did you fucking miss what my bots did?" Tony was at the end of his rope. He hadn't even had it in him to make another joke, he was just that pissed. 

Rogers seemed to be losing his equilibrium as well. "Language! And I didn't miss anything, Tony." And the way he said it was in absolutely no way flattering. It should be, dammit! Tony worked his ass off just to give them an advantage against HYDRA. "If you spent less time messing around, we could have had our people back much sooner. We could have had Bucky sooner."

Tony gaped. Is he serious? Tony was the sole reason Winter Soldier wasn't still Skull's lackey and instead of thanks or even companionable silence, he gets this? That's it. That's-  _ That's it! _

"Well I didn't see you being at all useful during his rescue, so maybe you should think about that and keep your criticism to yourself!" Tony snapped and turned on his heel, fuming as he stomped away from the infuriating relic of a man. 

This was so fucking unfair, Tony really tried to show Cap he's serious about the Academy, but that it doesn't mean people can't have fun at the same time. He spent days without sleep to get the idea for BARF up and running without glitches so they could bring Cap's best buddy back, and it's like nothing even registered with the guy. There obviously wasn't anything Tony could do. Steve simply hates his guts, there is no help with that. 

He wished he could make himself don't care. But he kept failing at that, too. 

\---

“You know, when Tony came up with the way to help Bucky, I thought this is all behind us,” Jan commented sourly, while watching Captain Hardhead engage in yet another shouting match with their very own Iron Idiot. “They apologized. Cap thanked him. There was even a hug, or so Tony said. I don't get it!” 

Rhodes just sighed. “What do you propose we should do about it then? They seem to be back in the old tracks and it’s not likely they are gonna stop it anytime soon. If ever."

Jan frowned and folded her arms across her chest, puffing up. 

"We could beat some sense into them," Natasha drawled from the seat at the bar, where she pointedly wasn't looking at them, pretending she's not part of the debate in any sense. 

"I would definitely enjoy that," Wasp nodded with vigor. Rhodey couldn't agree more, but on the other hand, he wasn't too eager to go against Cap in a fist fight. Except maybe for some noble cause and with all his armor and weapons and stuff. Maaaybe. 

At this moment, though, Tony finally lost the last piece of his cool and flipped Steve off, marching away from him without looking back. Steve was obviously trying to call him back, but he gave up quickly, his shoulders sagging and expression changing from angry to devastated in a less than three seconds. 

"Well, that was dramatic. What's up with them this time?" Sharon Carter popped out of nowhere, gesturing to Tony's disappearing back and Captain making his way - unsurprisingly - to the gym. 

Rhodey wasn't completely sure about her, but Jan was clearly okay with her because she had no qualms with answering. In detail. 

"They have their heads so far up their asses they can watch their neurons sleep!" 

Sharon cocked an amused eyebrow at her. Rhodey just put his hands up, not wanting to elaborate at whatever Jan planned to share with the class. He had an idea, though. Natasha still pretended not being part of the conversation. 

"They keep arguing about stupid things because neither of them has the balls to say what they really want to say. Tony is simultaneously trying to impress Steve and pretend he doesn't give a fig about what Cap thinks. Which means he's rude and flippant and arrogant and basically everything Steve can't stand. So, of course, Steve berates him for it, which makes Tony do it twice as much, which peeves Steve, and so on and so on. 

So instead of saying what they really want to say, they make each other angry and sooner or later one of them lashes out. And then they sulk."

"Which means we have to deal with the damage control," finished Rhodey in an attempt to stop Jan from spewing more of Tony's secrets than she already did. Which is to say not many, because Tony's crush on Steve was in no way a secret. Well except for Steve, who was oblivious. And Bucky, who had his hands full with his own feelings, or lack thereof - depends on the subject, probably. 

Seriously, Rhodey was sure even Drax knew about it at this point, and that was saying something. 

"And you think Steve is-"

"Oh he is, alright," Jan snorted and waved her perfectly manicured petite hand - not that there was anything wrong with small, cared for hands, Rhodey knew perfectly well how it feels to be punched by that hand, he had utmost respect for said hand. "Cap is so far down that road not even Hulk could drag him back. Not that he would ever admit it out loud. Clearly, if it's not training - or Bucky I suppose - it's not important. I love that guy, I do, but I swear some days I want to just blast him right up his-"

"Alright, alright, alright, that's enough of that, thanks," Rhodes waved his hands in the air. "Let's get back to the problem, okay? How are we going to fix it? Because don't get me wrong, chilling out with Tony in the hot tub drinking beer is nice and all, but doing it every day and sometimes twice or thrice, can be seriously taxing. Especially with this level of sulking and pining. Also, I don't have that much free time."

There were a few beats of silence. 

"That's kind of pathetic," Natasha commented in surprisingly invested tone. "And I thought nothing can be worse than when he tried to go on a date with me."

"Hey!" Jan protested, but it was a token protest at best. "Tony is... sensitive. He just hides it really well."

"That he does. But so does Steve."

"Huh?" Rhodey inclined his head to the side a little. 

Sharon rolled her eyes. "You don't think he's that much into training, right? Sure, he loves exercising and wants to be always prepared and in the peak shape, but he's mostly just hiding."

"From what? Tony?"

"Yeah. Well, not  _ just _ Tony. From people in general. He doesn't want to get too close to people-"

"And then lose them, again," Jan finished her thought, looking like she wanted to slap herself in the forehead. "Of course."

Rhodey frowned a little. "How do you even know that?"

Sharon shrugged. "We spar. Sometimes he talks. I think I remind him of aunt Peggy a lot, so..." She didn't finish, but they got it anyway. 

This beat of silence was even longer. On the other hand, Natasha abandoned any remaining pretense and moved closer to them.

"So, how do we fix it?" She asked after another moment. 

Rhodey had no idea. He tried. Really, he tried so many times to talk to Tony, encourage him to actually talk to Steve about it, maybe even try and ask him out. All in vain. Tony was as hard headed as Steve was. And with what Sharon said, there was just no way, Cap's gonna do the first step. 

Of course, he should have expected that the next thing that flew out of Jan's mouth was: 

"We are gonna throw a party!"

\---

"This was a horrible idea," Rhodey murmured to nobody in particular. Quietly. He did not want to be overheard by Jan, he fancied being alive and whole. 

"Maybe it's going to work. Everybody is so wind up from the HYDRA attacks and all the competing. Especially Tony and Captain America," Kamala's answer was quiet but obviously hopeful. She's been leaning a little into Falcon, who tried valiantly not to blush at the obvious affection. Rhodey personally found it hilarious, it's been weeks since they started dating. 

"Hey guys," Peter greeted as he walked into the kitchen with his hands in his pockets and little hunched as if he expected to be kicked out any minute. 

"Hey, Spider-boy," Rhodey couldn't help himself. As expected Parker bristled at the name and lost part of the self-conscious attitude. 

"It's Spider-MAN," he half gritted and Falcon laughed. 

"Ignore him, man. He's just pulling your leg. What's up?" 

Peter shrugged and came stand next to them. "Nothing much. Tony's been locked in his shop for better part of two days. He said we would work on my web shooters some more, you know, give me a little upgrade, but I guess he forgot." The kid shrugged as it was no big deal, but he was obviously bummed about it. Rhodey could relate. His one-on-one time with Tony suffered just as much since the whole ordeal with Steve began. Unless it included beer and pining. And there is only so much of that one can enjoy. 

"Yeah, sorry about that, kid. They were at it again the day before yesterday and I guess Tony's still down." Rhodey shrugged little awkwardly. "That's what we are trying to fix here actually, not that it works when neither of them is here," he rolled his eyes and look over Kamala's shoulder to the open door, where he could see Jan fume at Jen and Sharon, who both took it in stride, because it was Jan. Everyone loves Janet, so she can vent at anyone she wants and nobody really minds. But right now it seemed that Tony's ignoring her messages and boy did he not wished to be in Tony's jet boots when she's going to get to him. 

Peter's mood seemed to fall another bit. He took the whole 'fighting' thing much worse than anyone would have thought. If anything, him imprinting on Tony like a duckling would seem to be reason enough for him to stick with the Iron Man side, and it technically did, but the kid loved,  _ loved _ Captain America. Hence, the sad puppy-dog face every time he so much as took a whiff of their animosity. He probably cried himself to sleep every day this last week, it got so much worse. 

Rhodey couldn't do much more for him than push a raspberry cider into his hand and pray Fury never hears about it, coz his ass would  _ fly _ from the Academy, and not in the fun way. 

\----

When Tony finally arrived at the Avengers Dorm, he looked perfectly styled with confident smirk secured in its place, only those few truly close to him could see the tightness around his eyes and the tired look hid deep within them. 

Jan immediately threw herself at him, berating him for ignoring her, being late, his overall stupid behavior and probably another six more things, while fixing nonexistent flaw on his visage and carefully hugging him. Rhodey just smirked at him and waved with a second drink in the air, when she finally let him go. Tony gave him a real and grateful smile. 

"Hold it for me few more seconds, honey-bear! Have to drop this off first!" Tony hollered and gestured to a metal case approximately size of a shoe box. Then he whispered Jan something that made her giggle with glee and bounce on her feet. Rhodey would be suspicious, but almost everything made Jan bounce on her feet. 

He watched Tony cross the room to the makeshift stage where Vision had his DJ setup, handing the box over with a conspiratory smile and a grateful nod. Well, that was intriguing. Rhodey waited before Tony got to him and took a few swings from the perfectly chilled can Rhodey handed over. "Should I ask?"

Tony gave him a smirk. They both knew that what was Rhodey really asking was 'should I start working on the best escape route'.

"I'm hurt, bubbala. Don't you trust me?"

Rhodey gave him an unimpressed look. "Oh, I trust you all right. To get us both into a shitload of trouble." 

Tony's smirk widened into a real smile and he bumped into Rhodey's shoulder with his own. "You love it, don't even try to deny it."

Rhodey couldn't hold in his own smile any longer. "I clearly took one too many hits in the head being the testing dummy for your piss poor ideas over the years."

"You and me both, buddy. You and me both," Tony agreed and finished his drink. Rhodey stopped himself from asking when was the last time he drank something. Or ate, for that matter. He knew the answer would only aggravate him. Instead, he took a step aside when Jan bounced her way over to them and then proceeded to drag Tony to the impromptu dance floor. 

\---

Steve was not interested in the slightest in the whole party idea, but here he was standing next to Bucky, who seemed to be almost excited. He didn't see that look on his best friend's face for several decades and couldn't very well say no when Bucky asked him if they could go. Clearly, Natasha was the one who invited him and there was no power in the universe to stop him now. Except for the one thing that was Steve not being there with him. So Steve bite down all his protests and followed Bucky as a particularly sulky puppy. Sharon's words not his. 

She was the one welcoming them when they finally drag their sorry asses - also her words - to the party. 

"Drink?" She asked him, while Bucky took in all the changes made in the common area just for this one night. Jan's work Steve would bet. 

He squinted at the can in her hands. "It's not alcoholic, right?" 

She snorted and rolled her eyes. "As if I would waste the good stuff on your freaky immunity to everything fun." 

Steve frowned, slightly offended. She smiled. 

"I'm kidding. Just a warm up before you crash your hard head with Tony's again. And no, it's not alcoholic, just a coke. I heard there are few ciders stashed somewhere but that's about it."

Steve marginally relaxed at the admission. He was not in the mood for chasing after drunk freshmen, while simultaneously trying to hide aforementioned chasing from Fury. 

"You know," Sharon gave him a serious look, "one would think you would be in a better mood. We finally busted Red Skull. This is pretty good time for you to loosen up a bit. Celebrate. Have fun. Mundane things like that. I admire your work ethic and moral code, but don't you think you take it a bit too far? No one can go non-stop." She gave him a surprisingly wide smile then. "Aunt Peggy always said you need to reward yourself after a job well done, it's not like anyone else is gonna do it."

"That's a low blow," he muttered unhappily, but he could already feel himself breaking. These past several weeks were exhausting physically and emotionally. And she did have a point. They did good, he probably could allow himself an evening off. Even if he would prefer to spend it by playing pool or watching some of the movies he missed. Partying wasn't his style. Unlike Tony, who was just this second occupying the dance floor with Jan, Pepper, Scott, Sam and Kamala. They seemed to have a good time, though. Tony especially, he danced with abandon not often seen. Maybe it was the lack of ex-villains, maybe the fact that the threat posed by Red Skull and HYDRA was finally gone. At least for the time being. 

The moves he was pulling should seem silly, but somehow Steve found it endearing. Not often he could see so much joy and freedom in Tony's behavior. It saddened him at times, to be quite honest. He soon realized most of Tony's behavior was an act. What made him so cautious, though, was that he couldn't pinpoint what was sincere and what fake. He simply couldn't tell what from the hurtful things Tony said was meant to be hurting him or people around, and what was simply Tony's personal brand of crass humor. Not that it would really excuse his behavior. That was the main reason he was so often angry with the genius. 

Or that was at least what he tried to believe. Because the other possible reasons would make him a coward, and Steve was no coward. 

\---

Jan noticed Steve Rogers joined the party thanks to Tony. When said genius stopped flailing around with abandon and the smile on his face became stiff and only a shy of being completely fake. And sure, when she turned her head, right there clearly in Tony's field of vision were standing one awkwardly looking super soldier. She could almost pity him. Almost. There was no pity in her heart for those who made Tony look like this. 

Her best friend was positively miserable, his dancing transforming more into shuffling, any wild joy previously there completely gone. She wanted to punch Steve. She wanted to punch them both, Steve's face with Tony's, so they would finally realize that three-quarters of their arguing were just a pent up sexual tension. 

But before she could do anything the Winter Soldier was heading their way, clearly surprising Steve. And shockingly not at all surprising Tony, who smiled at him and waved him closer. 

"Hey Barnes, how's it going?" he asked while stepping aside from their group. Jan strained her ears but it wasn't easy to catch everything with music this loud. So she shamelessly shuffled a little closer. 

"Better," Barnes gave a little shrug, but it seemed friendly enough. 

Tony grinned. It was still a bit strained, but he obviously put some effort into it. Jan was baffled. Not that Tony tried to be friendly, she knew well enough how nice Tony could be when he let himself, but the target for this evening was more than just a bit surprising. But obviously, Tony's strife with Steve did not include Bucky Barnes. 

"Good to know. So, you feeling up to it?"

Barnes rubbed his hand over the back of his neck, but then little smile grazed his face. "Think so. He still wants...?" he trailed into unsure silence and his gaze flickered to the stage. 

Tony's grin widened. "Sure thing. Viz is pretty excited about it, he's been saying he would love to add some vocals to his sets, but nobody took him up to it. And he likes what you do."

That earned him a real smile from the guy, who seemed to be more and more relaxed with each word. 

"Oh my god, what is Tony trying to do?" Jess asked quietly so close to her ear she jumped a little and glared. Where did she even came from? "Does he wants to humiliate the poor guy? Everyone knows Barnes thinks he's better than he really is. That's low. Even from Stark."

Jan hissed at her. "He would never do that! Tony's trying to help!" She was sure of it, no doubt in her heart. The thing was, Jessica was right with the level of Barnes' talent. He hadn't much of it. Mediocre at his best days. She quickly glanced at Rogers standing still close to the door, now watching with suspicion Tony and Bucky's interaction. 

His expression changed from suspicion to shock and then anger, as Barnes and Tony made their way to Vision. 

Oh blast this, there's definitely going to be fight instead of truce tonight. She worked so damn hard to make this party awesome and successful in such a short time. Damn it! 

She was prepared to drag Sam and Pepper with her to do damage control, but then she noticed Clint popping up out of nowhere and pulling a huge cloth from where it was hanging from the ceiling. How the hell did they manage to sneak this behind her back?!

There were standing few instruments, concretely Clint's guitar and an electronic piano that was like nothing she ever saw before. And there next to them was the metal box she saw Tony bring in before. 

There was hushed murmur spreading through the room, one that could be heard even over the music. It strongly reminded her of an angry beehive. 

"Hey hey hey," Tony leaned over Vision closer to the mic Vision almost ever used but had nonetheless. "Cool your jets, people, nothing bad is happening, so no running out and assembling in the middle of a party, 'kay? We have a little treat for you for a job well done. We busted one ugly skull, folks, so let's celebrate!" He leaned back and took his place behind the piano. Clint went to his guitar and Barnes, to the silent horror of them all took out of the box a microphone. 

"Oh shit," Sam breathed out next to her. "Steve is gonna beat him bloody. Damned idiot."

Jan wanted to reply something but then Bucky opened his mouth and every thought left her head. 

"What?" Scott croaked, sounding as astonished as she felt. And then it hit home and she beamed. 

That microphone was not bought, it was Tony's work. And it changed everything. And nothing. Because the voice they all heard was still clearly Barnes, but it obviously went through something. What the real kick in the butt was, it wasn't autotuned as anyone would’ve thought, this was subtle and non-violating. Yet it made sound Barnes different. And wow. Just wow. Mixed with the instruments and Vision's set, it sounded nothing short of amazing. It reminded her early Daft Punk. They clearly worked on this together for more than an hour. 

"So that was what he did past few days," Rhodey observed smiling like a loon. Jan couldn't help her own wide grin. 

"Yeah. He's fricken' genius," Sam sounded astonished. 

"Yup," Jan nodded, proud as ever. "That's our genius alright."

"He just made Barnes part of the collective in the best way," Scott said absolutely awed and everyone in their little group nodded, while Jan looked over her shoulder at Steve, who stared at the stage with wide eyes and expression so dumbfounded it threw her into a fit of giggles. Maybe everything wasn't completely doomed and their plan could still work. Who would have thought Tony is going to fix nearly everything completely by himself and without any help? 

Then again, she thought, he truly was a genius.  

\---

"Shut up, you moron, that is so not what happened!" Pepper threw full hand of popcorn at Rhodey's head and missed by at least three feet. He laughed at her even more, but she didn't seem hurt or angry. Just the opposite really. Tony shook his head and grabbed some popcorn from her bowl before all of it could've ended on the floor. 

"Yes, it is. I swear to god, she kicked him so hard he was hiccuping next four hours and couldn't stand straight twice as long."

Pepper rolled her eyes but looked pleased. Natasha looked scarily intrigued by Rhodey's description of Killian's pain, but then again, Natasha looked intrigued by any and all talk about kicking ass. 

"And that's why Pepper is the one every businessman on this side of the planet is terrified of," Tony closed the story with a flourish. "Also she is smarter than all of them combined." He couldn't completely erase the pride from his voice and Pepper gave him a small private smile. They worked so much better as friends and partners than he would, though, it almost nixed the pain from her rejection. 

Before anyone could begin another story, Jan got back from wherever she was, holding a glass bottle, grinning like a devil. "Look what I've found! Let's play!"

"Play what?" Steve asked confused, Barnes and T'Challa next to him had similar expressions. Tony blinked in disbelief. 

"Are you for real? Are you twelve?!" he inquired, still not sure if this is one of her strange jokes. 

"No, dumbo. It'll be fun, c'mon! We played Spin the bottle before," she pleaded, almost vibrating with excitement. 

"Yeah," he deadpanned, "when we were ten." 

"Okay, so what, would you like Seven minutes in heaven better?" she smirked and Tony actually choked. 

"How the hell is that more mature?" 

Rhodey snorted. "Yeah, because you are such an advocate for maturity," he smirked at Tony, who gave him a stink eye but couldn't really argue. 

"What is the game you speak of. And why has it such a strange name?" T'Challa asked Jan, but it was Sam, who gave him the answer. 

"Basically, someone spins the bottle and the two people it points at go one by one into a separate dark room, usually a closet or something and stay there for seven minutes," he grinned mischievously. 

T'Challa frowned, not understanding. "How is that an entertaining game?"

Tony sighed and pinched the root of his nose. "The sole purpose is that they make out in there. For seven minutes. Others usually listen in, depends on the group and their age," he glowered right at Jan. They were so not drunk enough for this game. They weren't drunk at all actually. 

He could see the understanding dawn at the three who never encountered the game, T'challa surprised and little astonished, Steve blushing bright red and Bucky grinning. 

"I like the sound of this game," Barnes quipped and made himself more comfortable. 

"I don't think it's appropriate game," Steve opposed, still bright red. Tony should not think it adorable. Down that road lays insanity. 

"Oh, don't be such a buzz kill. It's gonna be fun!"

Tony grimaced. "I can't believe I'm saying it, but I have to side with Captain on this one. We are way too sober for this game."

"That's not what I said," Steve murmured, but didn't say anything more. 

Natasha smirked at Tony. "What are you saying, Stark? Too chicken for a child's game?" she mocked and Clint next to her began clucking and waving with his elbows as makeshift wings. That stung. Tony sat up straighter. 

"Oh, you are so on, Romanoff." He looked up at Jan. "Bring it. But I'm telling you right now, if I end up in that closet with Rhodey, we are playing cards the whole fucking time."

"I'm hurt, Tones!" Rhodey snickered from his seat across Tony. Tony snorted. 

"No, you are not. Been there done that, remember? Decided it's too weird and incestuous and swore never ever talk about it again."

Rhodey hid his head in his palms and wailed in false desperation. "Come on! I successfully forgot all about it!"

Tony smirked at him. "You have only yourself to blame, honey-bear."

"Alright, enough chit-chat, gather around, let's play!" Bucky hollered and gestured for everyone to move already. Sam laughed, but they all did as they were told. Steve still reluctant and T'Challa slightly confused but intrigued. 

The first ones who ended up in the closet were Scott and Quake. Immediately Clint began to speculate what's happening, and Pepper worried, if it's completely safe, because what if Quake loses control over her powers. This was followed by Clint and Sam falling into a fit of helpless laughter and unintelligible bits of words like 'ground', 'shaking' and 'lucky'. When they both emerged, Scott had a small smile on his face and Quake seemed mostly embarrassed, but not unhappy. 

The ones after them were Jan and Sharon and boy, did that turn all of them into gaping, slobbering messes. Not even Natasha’s disgusted expression couldn’t stop them from staring at the closed door, imagining things that pretty much guaranteed them a one-way ticket into hell fire. 

They both emerged smiling and smug, Sharon's lip gloss mostly gone and Jan's hair slightly mussed. Tony had to give it to them, they obviously didn't hold back a bit. 

Sharon was the one who got to spin the bottle next and Tony would deny it to his dying days that when it stopped at Steve something in him cracked at the idea what's going to follow. With someone. _Someone_ _else_. Dammit. 

Steve didn't seem to be any happier with his imminent future than Tony was. "Do I really have to?" It wasn't really a whine, but it was close. 

"Yes, you do," Sam nodded resolutely and sprung to his feet. "In with you," he guided Steve to the closet and shoved him in, chuckling to himself like a crazy person.  

Jan was now the one who got to spin the bottle and pick the partner for Steve. Tony's stomach decided at that moment to start with advanced acrobatics. It made him squirm in his seat. Natasha picked right that moment to knock over her drink, the sweet dark liquid spilling on the carpet. "Oh, crap!"

Sharon leaped to her with some tissues at the same time as Sam dove for the can. There were few seconds of commotion before everyone backed away to their respective places and eyes of everyone fell to the bottle. Which wasn't moving? And was pointing at him?

Tony blinked. And then blinked again. Oh. 

"Seems to me I can hide the cards again, right Tones?" 

"What?" He mouthed at no one in particular. Probably at universe itself. Because seriously, WHAT? 

"Up and at them, Stark," Falcon smirked at him and then pulled him upright, mostly pushing him in front of him, because Tony's limbs somehow didn't react to anything. 

"But- But-"

"Have a lovely seven minutes, Stark," Natasha smirked at him and he felt his eyes widen as the realization dawned on him. 

"You! You chea-" The doors were slammed into his face. "-ted." Tony finished lamely into the white paint of the closet door. 

"Ugh, Tony?" Steve's voice asked tentatively. That made Tony turn his head, even if there was absolute darkness before his eyes and there was no way he could actually see Steve. Oh, fuck. He's with Steve. In a closet. For seven minutes in heaven. Oh, fuck shit. 

"Em, yeah, hi. Uh..." Tony swallowed. 

"So..." Steve seemed to be as much grasping for straws as he was. He would have thought that would feel at least like something. But no, there was absolutely no relief in the fact that both of them seemed to be freaking out. 

"Shit. Ah, sorry. I mean... um, I- Damn it," he muttered to himself quietly and then took a deep breath. And then another one. That seemed to help at least a little, even if it filled his nose with lavender freshener. It didn't feel like he's drowning anymore. More like he's treading water with only one leg. "It's okay, Cap. We don't have to- Don't have to do anything. We'll just wait and say the we did. Or we won't. We don't have to tell them that. Or anything, really. It's just- Um-" 

"I wanted to thank you," Steve blurted suddenly and completely cut off any other blabbering Tony would spew in his general direction. 

"I, uh, what? For what?" Tony frowned, confused. Why would Steve want to thank him? That didn't make any sense. 

"For what you did for Bucky," Steve explained. Tony suddenly felt another body much closer to his than it was only a few seconds ago. "I- I really want to thank you for that, Tony. That was amazing. Absolutely incredible."

Tony felt himself flush, immediately grateful for the cover of darkness. "'S nothing," he murmured, not sure what he should do with the naked gratitude in Steve's voice, except for shying away from it as if it could burn him. 

But then there were hands on his shoulders, and Steve's breath tickling his hairline and forehead. 

"No, Tony. It's not nothing. It's pretty much everything to me. I was an ass to you and yet you went and did this for my best friend. I don't know how much better one can be than this. You are amazing, Tony. Thank you." Steve said it all with absolute sincerity and urgency that made Tony’s lungs froze in shock. 

"I- Ugh- I mean, you're welcome?" Tony tried unsure, because what do you even say to something like this? 

Steve chuckled and another stream of warm air grazed Tony's hairline. It made him shiver involuntarily. 

Steve's hands on his shoulders stiffened for a second and then they moved, cupping Tony's face and angling him up. And then there were warm lips on his and hoooooly sh- "Wait! Wait, wait, w-" He pulled himself away a little, because what the actual fuck?! "Is this some fucked up gratitude thing or something like that?" Tony asked wearily because that was so not what he wanted. If this supposes to be some payback for Barnes he definitely wasn't interested. He had some pride, okay? A lot actually. 

"No! No, Tony. It's not like that," Steve denied hurriedly. "I- um- I just really wanted to do that? For a long time? Want to I mean, still." Tips of Steve's fingers were still touching Tony's cheeks, grazing them, almost like a caress. 

"You do?" Tony couldn't stop his surprise from creeping into his voice. Really? Steve wanted to kiss him? 

"Yeah. Yeah, Tony. I really  _ really _ do." There was a smile in Steve's voice and he could picture it without any problem, that almost imperceptible upward curve of his lips, just a little bit higher on the left side, blue eyes soft and warm and smiling... Oh boy, he has it so bad. 

"'Kay," Tony breathed out. "'Kay, let's."

"You sure?" Steve suddenly seemed to be unsure himself.

"Yes! Yes, I'm sure, Steve. Definitely. More kissing in the imminent future sounds perfect. Best idea ever. Five stars. Ge-" Steve's lips thankfully shut him up at that point and Tony all but melted into his lips and hands and chest and wow, that was some chest... He moved his hands for some reason gripping Steve's wrists to his shoulders, and then back, and down down to Steve's perfect firm- Suddenly Steve's hands weren't on his face anymore, instead they were hoisting him up and Tony's legs working on their own volition locked around Steve's waist. Just that simple thing made him groan into Steve's mouth without an ounce of shame. "Steve," he murmured, fingers curling into Steve's soft short hair, pulling slightly. Cap bucked into him with a soft whimper. "Oh fuck," Tony moaned brokenly. 

Which was exactly the moment when the door flew open. They both froze, turning to stare at Sam, who was pretty much gaping at them with his mouth hanging. 

Before anyone could say anything, Steve pulled one of his hand from Tony's ass, grabbed the door and slammed them shut again, completely ignoring all their classmates and friends on the other side of said door. Unsurprisingly, Tony was a-okay with that. Especially, when Steve put his hand back on his ass and squeezed while kissing him like it was his sole wish from the day he was born. Tony was  _ definitely  _ okay with that.


End file.
